The Board of Trustees are delighted to announce that Louise Austin has been appointed as the Ymddiriedolaeth Drws i’r Dyffryn – Tywi Gateway Trust Manager and will take up this new post on August 20^th 2018.

Her primary role is as project manager and budget holder for the exciting redevelopment of the Bishop’s Park. An archaeologist by profession she worked for several years at Dyfed Archaeological Trust managing major projects, before becoming Heritage Officer at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, delivering and developing the parkland regeneration project.

Louise believes that her new post here “is a fantastic opportunity, to achieve the conservation and protection of this important historic park and garden. It will also benefit the county museum, the local community of the Tywi Valley and the broader region through greater use and enjoyment of the site”.

Louise can be contacted on louiseaustin@tywigateway.org.uk

There will be monthly guided walks to explain and discuss our plans for the project, including in the walled garden.

They will take place on the following Saturdays, starting from the car-park at 2.15 pm

May 5^th, June 2^nd, July 7^th, August 4^th, September 1^st, October 6^th November 3^rd and December 1^st.

Other guided walks may be organised and these will be publicised separately.

Please note that some paths are uneven and may be slippery, so stout footwear is recommended.  Dogs are welcome, on short leads.

Please join us and have a say on the future of your Park!

The gardens in autumn

We are all very excited about what the future holds for the Bishop’s Park. In looking to return the park to its previous grandeur, one of the big decisions has been through examining all available evidence deciding on what time period the park is going to be restored to.

After a lot of research the inspiration for the restoration will be how the park looked at the time when Dr John Jenkinson was the Bishop of St Davids in the early nineteenth century.

When he became bishop in 1825 both the palace and grounds had fallen into decay.  The palace was rebuilt and the grounds redesigned in a style where the plants were the centre of attention, all paid for by Bishop Jenkinson. This was to be the last time the Bishop’s Park had any major landscaping works undertaken.

Bishop Jenkinson died in 1840 but his legacy at Abergwili was already secured as in the same year his palace was described as being a ‘noble mansion’ and it was acknowledged that much beauty had been added to the grounds through his work.

It’s exciting to think that nearly 200 years later working with the community, our partners and the Heritage Lottery Fund our project can help restore his much loved lost garden, bringing it to back to life for the community and future generations to enjoy.

The palace and lawns seen from the south east towards the end of the nineteenth century
Courtesy of Carmarthenshire Museums